Occupant compartment superimposed on vehicle body



y 4, 1953 H. A. COOK 2,645,518

OCCUPANT COMPARTMENT SUPERIMPOSED ON VEHICLE BODY Original Filed June 30, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIGJ HARVEY A. COOK H. A. COOK July 14, 1953 OCCUPANT COMPARTMENT SUPERIMPOSED ON VEHICLE BODY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 50, 1948 FIG. 3

HARVEY A. Coon Patented July 14, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE OCCUPANT COMPARTMENT SUPERIMPOSED vN VEHICLE BODY Harvey A. Cook, University Heights; Ohio Original application June 30,1948, Serial No.

Divided and this applicationAugust 23, 1950, Serial No. 181,008

1 Claim. 1

This invention" relates to "a vehicle consisting of (a) a conventional closed type of body mounted on a pair of front steering wheels and a pair of rear wheels, bypreference the latter pair of wheels being'driven, and (b) a non-collapsible structure having side and end walls removably engaging the walls of the closed body to provide 4 an auxiliary closed compartment.

When the rigid structure is mounted on the closed body a unitary multi-compartment passenger vehicle re-' sults, each compartment being adapted for human occupancy, as later set forth. This form of "construction enables one or more passengers to drive cross country or tour from place to place in a convenient manner with many of the prob-' lems incident to such activity entirely avoided for the reason that sleeping quarters and other facilities for the passenger or passengers are provided and the employment ofa trailer is elimihated. As the removable section is fixedly re-' lated to and entirely mounted on the main sec tion or body of the passenger automobile the entire unit occupies a minimum space when parked Another object of the invention is to provide an improved non-collapsible closed body shaped to' be removably mounted on the top and rearward portion of the closed passenger body of a vehicle and providing in its interior sleeping and other equipment, while permitting access to the rear compartment of the automobile.

adapted to be removably mounted on the closed and onthe'road when the vehicle is in motion,

.facilitatesbacking and maneuvering in any direction, the vehicle engine has less weight to transport and therefore is more economical in fuel and oil consumption, and parking and drivr ing on roads and in congested traflic condition 7 are. materially simplified.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved light weight closed non-collapsible body adapted to be detachably mounted on various conventional types of passenger vehicles having travel facilitiesincluding sleeping, dressing;

eating and storage equipment usually employed in a trailer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved vehicle having closed non-collapsi ble human occupancy compartments, one compartment consisting of a conventional automobile andthe other having sleeping and other equipbody of a passenger vehicle, shaped to extend over the top and tail portion of the vehicle body with a minimized overhang rearward of the latter.

' Another object of the invention is to provide an improved closed body member adapted to be removably mounted on the closed body of a vehicle and containing a sleeping section and a utility section.

' Other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which my invention relates from the following description taken in connection with the" accompanying drawings,

' wherein Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of a vehicle embodying my invention, parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a view showing the passenger vehicle in side elevation and the non-collapsible auxiliary compartment in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

self-propelled passenger vehicle of the closed ment, detachably or removably-mounted on the 1 vehicle body.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved passengervehicle consisting of a closed main or self-propelled. human occupany body and a removable non-collapsible structure having a sleeping section and a utility section.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved closed non-collapsible body having sleeping and other equipment adapted to be removably mounted on a standardized-closedbody of passenger vehicle and forming therewith a unitary wheelmounted structure.

In the drawings, I. indicates as an entirety a body type, the vehicle chassis supporting the body 2x and provided with a bumper la. The body 20: has a top lb contiguous to the tail portion lc. The tail portion [0 encloses a suitable compartment having a door lc adapted to be raised as shown in dotted lines (Fig. 3).

3:0 indicates as an entirety a closed, non-collapsible body removably mounted on the body 22:5" While the body 3x overhangs the rear end of the body 200, it is entirely supported on the latter to provide a duplex body structure mounted on-one set of wheels. The body 300 preferably consists of a skeleton frame having rigid top and side and end walls, shown diagrammatically, as

3 disclosed in my original application, Ser. No. 36,012, filed June 30, 1948, now Patent No. 2,614,882. The body 31: consists of a top wall 4, side walls la, la, a front end wall 4b and a rear wall 40 preferably of arcuate shape. The lower or marginal edges of these walls are substantially complementary to the top lb and tail portion I and provided throughout their length with suitable cellulose webbing or like material to form a seal between the body 30c and the body 2x as well as to protect the surface of the latter. In this arrangement the non-collapsible auxiliary body 39: is closed, to eliminate the elements and wind and thus insures its occupants at all times with comfort and safety.

l2a: indicates a support for the mattress I3. The support iZa: is mounted at its front end on the cross members lb, lb, and at its rear end on a transverse sill 28 supported at its opposite ends on brackets 23a. The support 12:0 is of a length longitudinally of the vehicle to mount a full length mattress l In this arrangement, the top wall A of the body 3a: is suitably spaced from the support lZx to give head room above the latter. Either or both side walls of the body 320 may be provided with a window 29. Within the rear portion of the body 30: and adjacent the lower end portion of the rear wall do I provide a flooring 30 extending between the side walls of the body and rear and front seats 3!, 32, at opposite sides of and above the flooring. The flooring 39 is hinged along its rear end and swingable upwardly, and the seat 32 is hinged to a bracket 320. on the side wall 4a and swingable upwardly, as shown in dotted lines, to permit opening of the door lc' for the compartment in the rear of the vehicle 2x. By providing the non-collapsible body 33 with an overhang and extending the end wall 40 thereof downwardly and inwardly into engagement with the tail portion lo, the flooring 35 is disposed at a low level to facilitate ingress and egress and also insures head room below the top 4 and between seats when a person is standing on the flooring and hence retiring at night and re-robing in the morning is facilitated. In this form of construction the door 2250, which provides ingress and egress, extends from the flooring 39 to a point adjacent the top wall of the body 31'. The seat 3'! is hinged at 3la to the rear wall 40 and co-operates with a vertical wall ill) to provide an accessible storage space 31$. That end of the seat 32 adjacent the door 221: rests on a ledge 32a fixed to the side wall of the body; and when the seat 32 is swung upwardly into its non-use position it may be detachably secured to the wall Ad by related devices 321). The displacement of the seat 32 permits the compartment door lc to be opened, whereby free access to the compartment in the tail portion I 0 results. The seat 32 may be used as a support to facilitate getting into bed and back therefrom. The side wall opposite the door 22x is provided with a cupboard 33, the shelves 33a of which are adapted to support edibles and eating equipment. The cupboard is closed by a board 34, hinged along its lower end to the bottom wall of the cupboard to permit it to swing to the position shown in Fig. 3 in relation to the seats 3|, 32, and serve as a table. The outer side of the board 34 is provided with a pivoted leg 3M1. The board 34 is held in its up position by a suitable latch 341).

In the arrangement shown, that portion of the non-collapsible body 31: associated with and lying over the top lb of the body 21: serves as a resting or sleeping section, whereas the overhang portion of the body 39: provides a utility section wherein working, writing, reading, visiting and other activities, as well as eating, may be enjoyed.

It will be noted that the end wall 4c of the body 31: is provided with a window 8a in alinement with the rear window of the body 2x to provide a rear View for the driver in the latter body.

Current for the fan motors and elec may be supplied by batteries (not show l og tl iz battervmounted on the vehicle chassis. When the vehicle is parked on a lot provided with electric current supply equipment, these electric devices may be connected therewith. It will be observed that I provide a vehicle having a body consisting of two closed sections one usable for driving and the other usable for resting and privacy, and mounted on pairs of front and rear wheels, one pair of which is driven and one pair being steerable. Thus it will be observed that the vehicle may be advantageously employed for overnight trips and trips of longer duration, conveniently and economically.

It will also be observed that the removable section terminates at its front end on the top of the main section inwardly of the windshield thereof so that driving vision is not impaired; also that the removable body section overhangs the rear of the main body section a minimum distance As the width of the removable body section is reduced as compared to that of the automobile on which it is mounted, the turning radius of the vehicle is not increased. The removable body is relatively light and when mounted in position the gross weight of the vehicle (including four passengers) is increased approximately 8% and the center of gravity of the vehicle is shifted but approximately seven inches rearwardly. It will thus be seen that the increased weight is so distributed that driving and steering of the vehicle is not unduly affected and strains and distortion on the body, chassis and running gear of the automobile are reduced to a minimum.

The construction may be advantageously used since the usuable area (bed and luggage supports) of the removable section measures of the usable floor area of the automobile. This increasein usable space is obtained with minimum overhang at the rear and with less than 400 pounds increased weight.

To those skilled in the art to which my invention relates many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will be apparent without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. My disclosures and the description herein are purely illusiiiligtive and not intended to be in any sense limit- This application is a division of m a cl\)-p3egiglir21g application filed June 30, 192 8 :25 o. now Letter October 21, 1952. 5 Patent No. 2,614,882, dated What I claim is:

A non-collapsible human occu anc adapted to be removably mounted on t l ie tional closed body of a passenger vehicle the rear portion of which is provided with a compartment and a door therefor, said structure extending longitudinally of the passenger body and consisting of top, front, side and rear walls, the terminating ends of said walls being shaped to snugly fit contiguous portions of the vehicle body whereby said structure is closed, said rear wall extending outwardly beyond the vehicle body and downwardly and inwardly for engagement with the rear end wall of the vehicle body to provide therewithin a utility section, a transversely disposed flooring for the utility section disposed adjacent the inwardly extending portion of said rear wall, a transversely extending seat and a table above said flooring, said seat being disposed in the path of movement of the door for said compartment and hingedly mounted at one end on one of said side walls, whereby it may be swung into an inoperative position to permit opening of said compartment door.

HARVEY A. COOK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

